Of Dogs and Dolls
by The Unknowing Herald
Summary: Alchemy, science governed by the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Magic, archaic power said to come from the Gods. Once an Imperial Alchemist is tasked with protecting a bearer of Magic, their eyes are opened to the secrets that lay beyond even Truth. As Amestris verges on war, Edward must discover the secrets of the World, ones that may very well lie on the girl he was tasked with.
1. Dog of the Military, Doll of the Empire

**Author's Note:** Wow, I can't believe it took me FOUR YEARS to write something for Final Fantasy VI of all things! I mean, I wrote Dissidia and things like that, but I never made an entry for VI; or even focus solely on it. Well, time to change that! As always, I'd rather have the first chapter speak for itself, I'll talk to you guys after it all.

* * *

**Of Dogs and Dolls**

**Chapter 1**

**Dog of the Military, Doll of the Empire**

* * *

The Northern Winds of Amestris were renowned for their ferocity by even ones born and raised on their cusp. Snowstorms that lasted weeks were not uncommon, avalanches often becoming the grave of many men, native and traveler alike. As a result, not many were the people willing to establish their lives in this unforgiving environment.

It was in this field of eternal white, on the center of a storm of diamond dust, that a very unusual sight was taking place. Three long trails of large, circular footprints confused the native animals as to what kind of beast had walked into their land. Some of these animals had seen a trio of deep black, bipedal monsters, taking flight for their lives. Some others were, admittedly more curious. And as they approached it, they saw what looked to be three draconian metal beasts carrying three humanoid figures, two cloaked and one obscured by the snow.

As the snowstorm began to flutter, the entities climbed upon a nearby hill, the smaller of the trio slowly removing his hood, turning to the large one of the trio, and speaking:

"Can you see Narshe from here, Al?" the smallest of the trio asked as he removed the hood on his red winter jacket. The person was an, admittedly pretty short, teen blessed with a pair of golden eyes and matching braided ponytail. As he asked this, the larger of the trio seemed to point northwest, immediately following it up with:

"We strayed a bit from the path big brother, but we can probably get there before noon if we hurry," surprisingly enough, from the large body came the voice of a teen not unlike his short companion. Nevertheless, this answer seemed to satisfy his brother, if only for a moment, as right after he was caught staring at the third and last figure, the one with no cloak.

The young woman he was staring at appeared to be at least a few years older than him, however, it was a mystery how her small and frail-looking body had weathered the blizzard better than anyone else there. She was also far from muscled, being dry of muscle and fat, which, while giving anyone who looked at her quite a sight, only furthered the suspicion Al's brother held for the girl. Her skin was beautifully pale, further contributing to her fragile beauty looks and her hair followed the same vein, being of a pale blonde, its wavy threads being enwrapped into a ribbon to form a ponytail while small bangs fell over the small silver circle on her forehead unto the girl's cold, deadpan face. She was wearing a very unconventional sleeveless red dress with floral patterns drawn into it followed by two matching long red gloves that covered most of her arms, several different sashes around her waist, and a whitish cape, also patterned over flowers. Her legs were covered by patterned white tights, and red and gold high-heeled boots. Finally, she had two silver earrings with red gems inside them and a violet, teardrop-shaped hanging near her breasts, a single blue gem resting at the center. However, what caught the eyes of and chilled the spines of the brothers was her cold, emotionless violet eyes which didn't seem to acknowledge them as being there.

"Still worrying about her?" 'Al' asked his brother, his voice not betraying his own contempt for the girl too. His brother seemed frustrated at best when he answered it.

"I know orders are orders, but damn Kimblee, why did he stick us with whatever this thing is?!" the boy exclaimed, kicking some snow down the hill in frustrations. It only made it worse how the girl reacted to nothing he had said, even after he had essentially called her a thing.

"Brother not in front of her!" Al exclaimed, positioning his mount between his brother and the girl.

"Alphonse, take a hint. Whatever it is, it's not human. She hasn't reacted a single time to anything we've spoken or done to her, she's basically immune to the harshest of temperatures and, as much as I don't trust anyone with a smile as smug as Kimblee, I think he called this a doll for a reason," pointed out the brother.

"Brother… what are you implying?" Alphonse questioned, looking back to see that the girl's eyes seemed as completely aloof as ever, like she didn't even acknowledge she was the topic of the conversation.

"She acts just like… just like a Homunculus would," he replied, his voice lowered as he checked to see if anyone was eavesdropping, no matter how unlikely that was.

"Homunculus? Those things are just theories. You can't transmute a human… you know that better than anyone else," Al admonished his brother, a subject long since tabooed having been recalled during the conversation.

"I know, I know Al. But that's just the thing. She can't be a Homunculus," the brother explained, reflexively examining the girl once more. "She doesn't have the mark."

"Mark?" Al asked before reflecting upon on it. "Oh right! The Ouroboros mark! Wait… how do you know that brother?!" Alphonse more so accused than asked, the reddening of his brother's cheeks and the sudden drops of sweat replying for themselves. "Stupid brother! When Winry knows about this she'll-"

"I did it for science! I'm not some pervert!" the brother tried to defend weakly, his rage being drowned in his embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry for my brother! I hope you can forgive him… huuuuh," Alphonse shouted, lowering his head in order to bow to the considerably smaller girl in front of him. It was only then that he realized something crucial. "Oh right, what is your name? They never told us and you don't exactly tal-"

"Name?" the girl questioned, staring at the hulking person groveling in front of her. "That command is unknown to me;"

One would hardly imagine the climate could seem colder than it actually was, but the girl had done it.

"We shouldn't waste any more time. We gotta get to Narshe before this storm gets any worse," the shorter of the brothers said, putting his hood back on and twerking around with the commands to his ride, causing the draconic vehicle's engine the howl as it was ordered to move forward. Nodding back at their defacto leader, Alphonse took his commands, only to find the girl already matching pace with his brother. With a sigh, the larger teen drove after them, the snow colliding with his unfeeling body.

As the three figures traversed the whirling sea of white, a feeling they could not shake off had taken over them. A feeling that they were being watched. Not by someone, but by the world itself.

*Cue: "Melissa" FMA 2003 OST*

* * *

Narshe, one of the northernmost residential establishment in Amestris, not two days away from the frontier of Briggs, something that was reflected both in its structure and its people. The houses were wooden and small, providing just enough shelter for a family for the cheapest price. Most of the city was heavily loaded with machinery the streets could be narrow. But that didn't dim the spirits of any of the people inside. Although a blizzard had just occurred a few hours ago, by the time the brothers and the girl arrived at the city, it was already bustling with activity, streets filled with rugged but happy people as they moved to make use of the rest of the day after having been locked into their houses for so long.

In any case, our intrepid dwarf-sized leader was everything but fascinated by the strength and disposition of the people here. He was hungry. And his hunger had to be sated. Luckily, there was a small, outdoors restaurant ready for just that. The owner seemed more than happy to have clients the moment he opened shop once again, cooking up a generous stew in minutes. So generous in fact, that he couldn't bear to not ask:

"Aren't you two eating?" the restaurant owner questioned, seeing as Alphonse and the girl hadn't even taken a seat on the counter.

"W-we already ate! Brother gave us his rations on the way here, isn't that right?" Alphonse asked his female companion. Staring back at him with empty eyes, she simply answered:

"That is untrue," leaving Al to slump to the ground in defeat while the older brother nearly chocked on his stew.

"**Now** you talk!" the brother shouted in frustration. Still, he wasn't without a heart. While a part of him swore this would bite him in the ass, he went on and asked: "You hungry?"

"Some of my energy storages are empty-"

"Stop with that convoluted talking! Mister, get her as much as she can eat!" if only the small teenager had any idea of the monster he had just unleashed.

"You didn't have to ask me. I was going to feed her wether you liked it or not. No girl this pretty should starve! Rosé, another Narshean Combo, on the double!" he exclaimed to the back of the kitchen, where a teenage girl of dark brown hair worked.

"Was already on it!" the girl said, turning to reveal a pair of pink bangs that only highlighted why she was called Rosé.

"Sit down," the brother semi-roughly told the girl, leaving his seat with his half-finished stew and motioning her to get in. "As you said, I already ate rations coming here. You can have the rest of mine too. Can't let you fall flat on the ground, the Colonel would never let me hear the end of it…" much to his frustration, the girl complied with his request. Only to continue staring at him with the very same blank expression. "What are you waiting for?! Eat before I change my mind!"

"Brother, she's probably just shy!" Alphonse shouted in defense of the girl he was sure his brother was harassing.

"She's not minding is she?" the brother pointed out. Alphonse taking note how the girl had taken the boy's advice and began chowing down on the stew. "She was hungry though… should have told us, you weird girl." he off-handedly commented, some of his suspicions lifting. The girl, for all her strange behaviors, was proving human enough.

"If I may step in, you two are travelers, right?" the girl called Rosé asked, delivering her stew and leaning on the counter. The brothers nodded nearly instantly. "Well, have you heard news of a State Alchemist traveling north? Word is that the pair of Alchemists called the Elric Brothers is heading here, the kids won't stop talking about it," Alphonse stopped for a moment at that comment. Why would the army release such information up to the public? Weren't they supposed to only survey the Church of the Goddess? His brother… not so much.

"You are looking right at 'em! The Elric brothers, Alphonse Elric and the Fullmetal Alchemist himself… Edward Elric!" the brother finally exclaimed, his name being heard by pretty much everyone on the street. With his booming announcement came an overblown removal of his winter coat to reveal his nigh unicolor clothing consisting of sleeveless black shirt with a black jacket trimmed in silver, black matching trousers and boots that clearly were compensating for his height. However, the real eye-catcher was his bright red hooded cloak that covered everything from his shoulders up to his calves, one that covered both his arms until his sleeves, where he continue to hide his skin with a pair of white gloves. Said cloak was emblazoned in black with a mystical alchemic seal, the Flamel, a depiction of a cross with a snake or serpent draped about it, as well as detached wings and a crown above it. However, for all his flamboyance, he soon found that the center of his attention was, indeed, his brother.

"Wow! You are really tall Mr. Fullmetal!" As a kid mistakenly told this to Al, a vein nearly popped on Edward's head. The cloaked large teen frantically shook his head and arms, trying his best to get the attention of the crowd, however, the one able to prove them all wrong still had a piece of meat in her mouth as she said:

"The State Alchemist named Edward Elric is that man," the dollish girl said, pointing at Ed. At first, not many heard it, but, as soon as the owner of the restaurant shouted:

"That pipsqueak is a State Alchemist?!" all hell broke loose. Whatever vein nearly pooped committed seppuku and called for friends as Edward flew into a blind rage:

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PIPSKEAK YOU PEABRAINED OLD MAN?!" Edward absolutely blared, jumping on the counter and nearly taking it to the elder man if Al didn't restrict him. Not all was alright though, as Edward had clearly thrown off a pretty expensive looking radio right off the table, causing it to be completely smashed when it hit the ground, which caused the commotion to die with it.

"We're so sorry, my brother just doesn't take his height kindly!" Al explained, again having to restrain his brother as soon as someone commented that Edward "had a reason to". In any case, Edward's rage was quelled once he saw the results of his rampage, the broken radio on the ground.

"Well, I have no problem with your outburst, but I am going to have to ask you to pay for that," the elder said, apparently more upset about the radio than the verbal aggression. This brought a sneaky smile to Edward's face.

"We'll handle that!" he exclaimed, patting the back of his brother. "Al, you can have this one, gotta practice your alchemy, don't you?" he questioned, a sharper look, as fast as lightning, being exchanged by the two brothers. It didn't take much to tell Alphonse that Edward didn't want to reveal his alchemy just yet.

And so, with a simple piece of chalk and a pair of swift hands, the brother drew a runed circle on the ground, placing the radio in its center. Crossing his hands, he willed the transmutation array to activate, visualizing the object, its transformation and its final form. Moments later, after a short burst of electricity and light, the radio stood there, in better shape than it had ever been, even going as far as to transmit its usual programming.

Needless to say, this gained boundless praise and shock from the people around the brothers, only girl looking on, impassive. However, there was someone else that didn't react as one would expect. Edward's golden eyes saw Rosé's momentary cringe at the sight of the transmutation, something he would not forget so soon.

With all that being said, a pretty interesting sound took Edward's ear. The radio was transmitting what seemed to be a sermon, which provided the perfect icebreaker for his next question.

"Rosé, they say Narshe's pride is its chapel to the Goddess. I suppose you wouldn't know where it is, would you?" he asked of the girl, who snapped from her trance after a few moments. Taking a good look at Edward, her expression returned to her kind and peppy smile as she nodded back to him.

"Father Banon should be in the middle of his delayed public sermon, if we move now, we'll probably be there in time to enter the church in peace, I'll take you there myself if you don't mind," Rosé explained, greatly satisfying Edward. Not only did she know it, she was gonna lead them to it?

"Great, let's go!" Edward exclaimed, grabbing Rosé's wrist, only to be stopped by the owner of the restaurant.

"Kid, you still need to pay… for her," he explained, pointing towards how their girly companion had now gone through around five stews.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaa-"Edward cried, him and his wallet crying tears of blood.

* * *

Even after paying, Rosé had informed them that she had to at least finish attending the lunch clients before leaving, which meant Ed and Al still had a good half an hour before leaving. While most of it was spent in idle banter with the townsfolk, soon came a time where only them and the girl that had been tasked unto them were left, just as Rosé was cleaning up the dishes on the inside of the store. It was at that point that Al questioned Ed:

"Why were you so fast in announcing who we were? Even you are more careful than that Brother," Al questioned, half-reprimanding half-curious. He wouldn't put it past his brother to do this purely for the fame and praise he'd get, but he felt like there had been something else to it.

"Why do you think I asked you to perform the alchemic procedures Al?" Edward asked whilst he idly fidgeted with his right arm and left leg for some reason. At the silence that encompassed them, Edward decided to grace the unanswered question with the response it needed. "When I announced it, there were a lot of people excited yes, but, in the middle of the crowd, there were more than a handful of people that were analyzing us, from top to bottom. And no, they weren't fans, those were the eyes of someone looking for any chink in our armor that they could exploit,"

"But wait, that means…" Alphonse gasped, understanding the true reason why they had just sent a pair of Alchemists, one of them an Imperial one, to basically watch over a priest.

"There's something fishy in this town. And I'd bet that something is related to Banon. Kimblee either only knew of this suspicious activity or just wanted to make life hard for us, the bastard," the impassive eyes of the girl watched over Ed as he made his revelation, silently nodding, as if she understood what this meant for her mission. "In any case, we gotta talk to this priest, he's either gonna help us or Kimblee's lead is as bad as it usually is,"

"Ready! Shall we?" Rosé asked as she skipped to the side of the Elrics. With a nod, they were off.

* * *

Edward and company had arrived just in time to watch the closing of the public sermon in the small plaza just in front of the quite richly constructed church. At first, the grandness of this church in such a humble mining town like Narshe had warranted some suspicion from the Elric brothers, at least more than they already had for the priest, however, these doubts were put to doubts of their own once they listened to the tail end of the priest's sermon.

"And for that, Brothers, Sisters, I urge you to lay down your grudges and entrust your destiny unto the goddess' caring hands. If we keep our faith strong, no human souls will waste away in the flames of war," The priest, Banon, an elder man in the twilight of his life, had unkempt blonde hair and facial hair and dressed quite humbly for a priest, taking barely anything more than a white robe and a staff into a public meeting like this. That, combined with his speech, for the entire religious cheap talk it seemed to entail, made Edward start to question his first assumption about why the priest was suspected upon by the Empire.

Still, he was not about to give this guy a free pass just for a couple of lines. He waited along with Rosé and the others for the crowd to disperse and the way to the church to be open, leaving them alone at the gateway to the church. It was then that Rosé revealed something:

"I actually happen to volunteer at the church, I'll go inside and see if I can get Father Banon to see you. Don't wander too much on your own!" she exclaimed, opening the doors and waltzing in by herself, leaving our trio behind. Alphonse noticed the pensive look on his brother's face and questioned him as the girl looked on.

"Something the matter brother?" he asked Edward as he prepared to enter the church. "You noticed, didn't you? The crowd was not exactly fond of us," Edward explained, Alphonse taking a look around before nodding.

"Yeah, they tried to hide it, but more than a few of them saw us as targets. It was hard to hide that I was onto them," Alphonse explained, both of them turning towards the girl, which for once had something to say.

"I recall their facial features, shall I hunt them down?" she questioned, surprising Alphonse with her bluntness, yet Ed seemed quite indifferent.

"If I had wanted to, I could have done that, but we're not here to cause a commotion. No one trusts the military that much around the frontier areas, attacking them and questioning them just because they looked at us the wrong way would lead us nowhere," Edward explained, Al and the girl surrendering to his sound logic. "That's why we need to cover our bases, maybe Banon will know more about the situation. We need to know if they just hate the Empire or if they are planning to capitalize on that…"

"What are you implying brother?" Alphonse questioned, Ed shrugging his arms and sighing.

"I'm implying we may be bait for the big catch, not that we have any word against it, we'll just have to trust Rosé that the Priest is to be trusted," he explained, not entirely convinced that Kimblee had sent them on a wild duck search.

"He seemed alright," Alphonse pointed but, continuing with: "If the priest was trying to stage something or even brainwash his followers, then he'd most likely trying to appeal to the masses with slightly twisted truths and tie them to his religion. From what we heard, he's inspiring everything **but** rebellious behavior,"

"That was one speech Al. And the latter half of it. You're a culprit until proven otherwise in my eyes," Ed dismissed, walking into the church, his brother following him exasperatedly.

Again, in a conflicting way, the church itself was grand on the inside, with stained glass windows permeating the sides, golden embroideries in the exquisite tapestry and carpets, and a massive master piece of a statue as the forefront of the altar, depicting a beautiful woman covered only in a single long cloth that covered all that it needed to, long flowing hair appearing to fly to the wind, right hand raised to the skies whilst the second one held an orb that no doubt held some deep significance. Strangely enough, such an angelic figure, which even possessed a halo behind her back, was standing on a gigantic head of a horned and demonic looking giantess.

"So THAT'S Goddess Sophia huh? Gotta say, the statue could do without her lower half, it hardly inspires 'wisdom and peace'," Ed joked whilst poking one of the horns of the giant head.

"Edward! You just committed three cardinal sins in ten seconds!" Rosé blared, storming from a door to the side of the altar and bonking Edward in the head really hard. "I understand that you may not be aware of our customs or even agree with them, but please, while in Her house, try not to insult them,"

"I… did?" Ed asked, trying to gain time to nurse his weakened scalp.

"None but the Priests may address the Goddess by Her name, we are not worthy of it. To touch the statue is also a sign of arrogance and disrespect towards this sacred place. And finally, to even imply that our Goddess is the same as the foul demon She conquered and is not presiding above is insulting and a punishable act by excommunication," Rosé rapid-fired with an intense fervor and dedication that the boy had not seen from the girl before. He was slightly impressed.

"Well, good thing I'm an atheist then!" Ed joked, Alphonse's sense's widening as, for a mere moment, he felt some intense hatred boil in the air. Before he could piece in who or what was to blame, Rosé spoke, dissipating the reaction:

"Well, that won't do. To believe in and worship God, and live with gratitude and hope... It's such a marvelous thing," for every word she spoke, one could tell Rosé truly believed in what she said, she even felt angelic with the rainbow light of the multicolored stained glass windows lit her visage. "If you believe, I'm sure you will grow taller!" she exclaimed with stars in her eyes.

"WHAT DID YOU TELL ME YOU UNDERDEVELOPED-"Edward roared, forcing his brother and the girl both to cover his mouth before he said something that would get him killed.

"Sorry for my brother Rosé, his height is just a very touchy subject for him…" Al explained, Rosé nodding back, still sweating from the display.

"But I am serious Edward. If you lay down your life for the Goddess, she will reward you and your loved ones. Nothing is beyond the blessing of the Goddess, she can save you and your loved ones, grant you happiness and prosperity, if you try hard enough, she may even bring back the ones you hold dear…" distinct sadness and nostalgia had taken over Rosé at this point, causing Ed's comedic personality to severely tone down.

"Bringing back the dead. Don't tell me you think that's possible," Ed dismissed, sitting down on a nearby bench whilst searching for something his coat.

"I know it is. Nothing is beyond the scope of the Goddess' Magic!" Rosé defended, just to be interrupted before she could make her point.

"Water, 35 liters; carbon, 20 kilograms; ammonia, 4 liters; lime, 1.5 kilograms; phosphorus, 800 grams; salt, 250 grams; saltpeter, 100 grams, and various other stuff," Edward dictated, the calculations he had done years ago never having left his mind. Looking into Rosé's disoriented eyes, explained: "That's the material makeup of a human body, calculated for one adult, female to be exact. With our science now, we know that much, but there has never been one reported case of a successful human transmutation actually taking place. Are you telling me that what can't be done by science can be done through prayer? Even though we have clearly deciphered the entirety of the human body?"

"Alchemy and science are tools we humans have created to try and break away from our Goddess' grasp. She does not hate Her children for trying to forge their own path, yet, we can never presume to achieve the Her power," Rosé replied, taking a deep breath and looking up into her beloved deity's eyes. "Alchemy is but a pale shadow of Magic,"

"Magic… Alchemy through the use of Magicite," Alphonse commented, yet again threading into taboo.

"And a pagan act!" Rosé nearly exploded at the word magicite, leaving Ed and Al to simply stare at the ceiling and ground respectively. "A person who that dares to emulate The Goddess will surely be punished for their hubris. Magicite is a sacred relic that should be cherished and worshiped, not used like a tool!"

"Hubris? That reminds me of a story…" Edward said, his normal brashness and confidence being replaced by a strange mixture of nostalgia and contemplation. "Icarus, thinking himself equal to the gods, flew too close to the sun, his wax wings melting and dropping him into the raging sea below. I wonder… is what we Alchemists are destined to become?"

"Brother, don't…" Alphonse meekly said, memories he did not want to relieve becoming ever clearer.

"Rosé, be honest, you think someone like me could ever be accepted by the Goddess?" Edward asked in a turn of events that both confused and surprised Alphonse.

"Of course. As long as there is belief there is forgiveness," she explained, nodding back at Edward and company before pointing towards the door. "Father Banon will see you now,"

* * *

For all of Rosé's smiling reassurance and aura of calm and kindness, Edward did not enjoy where he was being taken at all. It was no surprise that the church extended into the mountains behind it, it seemed like the perfect place for an undercroft, but the more they walked through the darkening halls, the less they looked to be a church's and the more they resembled a rough mining structure.

"Where are we going Rosé?" Alphonse questioned, his worries mirroring his brother's.

"We are meeting Father Banon, he went to bless people in the mine for good fortune, he said he'd take a while so it'd be faster for us to follow him rather than wait," she explained, her voice not faltering one bit. That would be enough for most people, but Edward was still suspicious. In all her time with them, Rosé never had talked without any emotion behind her speech. Was this just an odd one out?

They finally arrived at a large doorway, taking little time to cross it, they came upon a large room of dark brown tiles. The room was empty outside of the pillars that sustained the mountain above and a balcony-like elevation on the other end of the room and the sides of it, coupled with yet another doorway on the other side of it. It almost looked like…

"Is this an arena?" Alphonse deduced, being greeted by sheer silence. The moment they had taken to survey the room was enough to have Rosé vanish from their sights, their eyes only managing to locate her just before she arrived at the other doorway in a display of speed that challenged the mind. "Rosé, what's happening?" Al cried, the loud sounds of a banging door turning him back, where he saw that his brother had been unable to even scratch the now locked doorway behind them. It was then that a known voice welcomed them in.

"While I'd have hoped we had met on different circumstances, I still welcome you to Narshe, Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, and even you, the ever illusive Alphonse Elric!" Banon greeted from the top of the centermost balcony. His order, however, was slightly off when it came to the ones he had addressed.

"I'M the Fullmetal Alchemist!" Edward blared as he noticed that Banon's arm had pointed towards him when he called for Alphonse.

"Really? A child like you?!" This was a genuine surprise for Banon, and it was that combined with the current situation that stopped the ever present outburst of Ed. He, instead, took it seriously and went straight to the point.

"Mr. Priest, I'll be direct. Are you part of a faction that is discontent with Vector?" Ed was not one to play cat and mouse, much less when a situation of this nature presented itself. Surprisingly, the answer was equally simple.

"You knew this before even entering the church, did you not? Perceptive boy," Banon replied, an honest show of respect coming from the elder man. This was more than enough to put Alphonse on a battle stance, yet Ed simply stood there.

"Kimblee was right, huh? Well, I guessed that they wouldn't have been specific in mentioning the priest unless he was either an undercover agent or a part of the problem," Ed explained, stretching his right arm and then his left one. "So, what now? Are you going to try and beat us to submission?"

"That is something I would wholeheartedly try to prevent," Banon said, inciting a snap reaction from the small teen.

"Stop with this holier-than-thou attitude! This church is just a cover-up for some rebel organization, isn't it?!" Edward exclaimed, his outburst echoing through the room before letting it fall in silence.

"The Church of the Goddess joined the Returners willingly. Father Banon came to us, we did not come to him," Rosé suddenly said, leaving the brothers in a shock. Not only had all their guesses failed horribly, not only was Rosé a part of a rebel organization and not the sweet girl they had thought her to be, but an actual religious group had reached out to these people?

"That is indeed what happened," Banon confirmed, picking up his staff.

"But the Church of the Goddess preached peace over all! You swore to change the world without wasting a single soul!" Alphonse shouted, anger starting to boil on the young man.

"And that is why we have stayed silent for the past decades! Nay, centuries! The Empire was founded in blood and flames, built on bodies and betrayal! Ishval was only the most recent of tragedies! Yet, not once did the Church inspire people to rebel. To truly change mankind, you must change their nature, not destroy those who are lead astray!" Banon's voice was stern and determined, the hatred this man had for the Empire was palpable, yet, it did not seem to take him. This man had a reason, that the Elric brothers were sure.

"Then… why?" Al asked, the staff of the man swiftly answering his question as it pointed past him and his brother, directly unto the girl behind them.

"It is because of abominations like her," Edward and Alphonse looked at the girl in shock and then back to Banon. "For as many sins that the use of Alchemy brought, it is still a power that flows into the principles of the universe. Yet, the never-ending avarice of the Empire bred something far worse. Inhumane beasts that mock the human shape and bend the Realm of God to their will through the use of Magic! The girl that was tasked upon you is only one of those dolls. She was not the first, nor will she be the last. In front of this heresy, we had no choice but to take action and join those that would destroy this corrupt system before it was too late,"

Silence took the room for the proceeding moments as all parties took in all the information and processed it. The first to take action was Rosé, who moved towards the center of the room, staring at the brothers, no ill will plaguing her blue eyes.

"Knowing all of this, will you still follow the Empire?" she questioned, her real intentions being as clear as water. Alphonse did not know how to reply, he was begging that the girl behind him would say something, anything, that she would even try to deny that she was nothing but a doll, something created by humans. But she did not. Yet again, it was like no soul resided in those cold, violet eyes. Interrupting his trance was the least expected of sounds. Laughter.

"You can't be serious!" Edward exclaimed, shaking his head as he doubled over in laughter. "You come to us with a flowered up speech making you look like the absolute best people in the world, present us no evidence that your claims are true or that you guys are even better than them, and you expect us to waddle over to your side? Imperial Alchemists may be the dogs of the military, but we're faithful ones at least, not just any stray!" the older teen exclaimed, regaining his composure and clapping his hands together. "Unless you have anything else to say, we'll just skip to the part where we beat you up and drag you all the way back to Vector!"

"I told you your sympathy was misplaced Father," Rosé sighed, turning her back at the brothers and slowly walking into the back of the room. "An Empire that would murder someone like Cain for no reason other than him wanting to live a normal life, even going as far as to brand it an alchemic accident will poison every soul it gets its claws on," she said, opening the gates as Banon grimaced and nodded in agreement. "Goodbye Edward Elric, I hoped you to be different," Rosé said, leaving the room as the side balconies were filled with armed inhabitants of Narshe, most likely rebels.

As if that was not enough a strange screeching noise came from the entrance from which Rosé had just left from, along with the sound of sludge falling and splattering on the floor. Over the course of a slow, tense few moments, the Elric brothers saw what they would never imagine to be possible to encounter in a town like Narshe. Sliding through the gate was a gigantic snail-like beast, easily thrice the size of Edward, its yellow gooey body trudging along an even larger purple spiked shell.

"A Chimera?!" Alphonse cried, Banon's look showing shame.

"You can only fight monsters with monsters… Ymir, destroy the doll!" he commanded with his staff held high, a burst of red light filling the room. Like it was responding to it, the snake-like monster roared, spitting a large quantity of yellow ooze towards the brothers, forcing them to dodge, Edward went beneath it, the girl to the right and Al to the left.

"Awaiting orders," the girl told Edward, who did not even hesitate in shouting:

"Take the right balcony out! Al, take the guys at the left out! I'll take the chimera!" he exclaimed, hitting the floor with both his hands, the stone in the floor receding inward as from the ground arose a large spear with a brown hilt and bronze tip, which incited shock from the room.

"Alchemy without a transmutation circle?! You cannot have-"Banon exclaimed, as shocked as the rebels, yet he was interrupted as a sea of fire flooded one of the balconies by his side, burning all of the Returners inside alive.

"Brother, she just-"Alphonse shouted from the side as he had finished drawing an alchemic circle of his own.

"I know Al…" Edward stated, his eyes fixated in the flaming wreckage and morgue, unable to draw his eyes away from the tragedy that had just occurred. If only he had expected it… but he didn't. And there was nothing he could do about that. "Damnit, there's no use dwelling on that now! We'll figure out what is happening by ourselves once we're out of here! I'm still not trusting these guys!" Ed blared as he lunged towards the Chimera. With those words ringing in his mind, Alphonse agreed, hitting the circle and transmuting the land around him to put him at the height of the balcony, where he was greeted by a hail of bullets.

On Edward's side, he was not much better off. For a snail, Ymir's head moved at a lighting fast pace, making it hard for the alchemist to even approach the chimera. He parried and dodged as best as he could, but for any progress he made by weaving through the blows of the head, once he was forced to parry he'd just go back to where he had left off. The strength of the chimera was far too much for a human to match.

"Do you require aid?" the girl suddenly said as she appeared by his side. Edward grimaced as he saw the molten leftovers of the balcony. He could not blame Banon for calling this… _person_ a monster. However, he had seen too much to take anything at face value. For now, he was trusting the one that didn't put him between the sword and the wall.

"Just keep him busy, I'll lop off its head once I manage to get to a good spot," Edward pointed out. Acknowledging this, the girl waved its hand from one side to the other, materializing icicle spears out of nothingness that she commanded to spread towards the Chimera. Paying no mind as to how she had done it, Edward renewed his assault. The shock and pain from the icicles carving into it's the snail's skin giving him enough time to slip by its defenses and nearing the base of its shell, where he planned to lop off its accursed head.

At the same time, Alphonse ran through the hail of bullets as it shredded its clothes, shocking the soldiers for enough time for his large, iron knuckles to knock them out of order. It was only when his head was struck clean by a sniper rifle that he slowed down, the constant gunfire hailing him once again, leaving him for dead. By the time most of the firing had stopped, all that was left of Alphonse was a large, hulking gray metal armor, complete with a horned helmet, out of which two red eyes shone through, a large strand of hair-like ribbon sweeping to the wind coming from the commotion. Just like his brother's cape, his shoulder had been engraved with the Flamel.

However, there was a problem. His helmet was not on its head, but on its hands, having left the head portion completely empty for a few moments as Alphonse adjusted the helmet back into position.

"No way! What is he?! A new model of Magitek Armor?!" one of the rebels exclaimed, Alphonse not answering. At this point, he knew words would never be enough. And so, trusting his brother he continued his assault. Banon however, was all too aware of that meant.

Back with Edward, just as his spear flew towards the Chimera's neck, Ymir noticed the danger, swiftly retreating its whole body into his shell, leaving only one dark, damp hole behind. Cursing the speed of the monster, Edward thought about what he should do. Not knowing the structure of the shell it was dangerous for him to just thrust his spear inside.

"Stand aside!" the girl exclaimed, a sizzling flare floating on her right hand. In a moment, Edward saw sparks leap out of the shell. In that same moment, the girl had lunged even past him, intent on throwing the fire inside the shell no doubt. He would not let her.

"You idiot!" Edward roared, tackling the girl and putting his own body between her and the snail, just as the static electricity that he had noticed erupted from the Chimera, burning off his cape and sleeve and electrocuting the Fullmetal Alchemist, yet doing next to no damage to the girl.

"Brother!" Alphonse cried out as he jumped off the balcony during the burst of energy. By the time he arrived to his brother's side, he was on his knees, his right side burned in several places, as well as his right arm being now on full disclosure. Instead of flesh and bone, there were only steel and cogs. Attached to a heavily scared right side of the torso was an automail arm, a prosthetic arm made with the latest technological advancements of the Empire. This would be the final piece on the puzzle for Banon.

"Your arm…a brother who is just armor… the ability to transmute without a circle. It all makes sense now. Fullmetal Alchemist, you invaded upon the Realm of God, didn't you?!" Banon accused, all of the hatred he had for the Empire seemingly transferring over towards Edward. "You have performed human transmutation, the greatest taboo for any alchemist! To walk upon the domain of the Goddess and to try and bring back the dead!"

"You know your stuff old man…" Edward coughed, slowly standing himself back up. "So, what now? Did I upset your neatly goddess? Because let me tell you something! Whatever I saw in there looked nothing like what you worship! So whatever this Sophia is, she is anything but a 'God',"

"To think that you would still mock the Goddess after she mercifully let you return! Ymir, send them to the Goddess so that they may repent!" Banon ordered, the red light from his staff making the snail's carapace light up with static once more. "I'll pray for your souls myself,"

"Not so fast!" Edward exclaimed, rushing towards the snail, clapping his hands and touching the ground directly beneath the shell, creating a giant fist of stone that hurled it straight towards the balcony where Banon was, much to his terror. Ymir collided with the balcony and erupted in lightning, leaving Banon's fate unsure. "Al, let's go!" Edward exclaimed before collapsing back on his left knee, the adrenaline unable to mask the injuries for much longer.

"I'll take you brother!" Alphonse stated, throwing Edward into a piggyback ride, much to his chagrin. "Let's go!" he told the girl, running off as she followed obediently.

They should have never expected a clean way out. The door from whence they came had suddenly burst open with rebels, stranding them in the mines and forcing Alphonse and the others into tunnels they knew nothing about. For all intents and purposes, it wasn't all bad. Alphonse, being just armor, had it easy as fatigue was something that was foreign to him, while the girl didn't seem to get tired either, meaning they had started to gain distance on their pursuers as soon as their bodies began to tire after a few minutes. While they were still lost, the only way that they saw they would get caught was if they found themselves on a dead end.

Which, like Murphy's law would have it, was just what happened.

"Damn it, a dead end!" Edward cursed when they entered a large chamber that apparently had no other tunnels connecting to it.

"We can't turn back!" Alphonse exclaimed as the sounds of hounds and boots lurked ever closer.

"We'll just have to… where are you going?" Edward asked the girl. While him and Alphonse were getting ready to battle, the girl's eyes had completely glazed over, setting her in an even stranger state of trance than usual. She was staring deeper into the cave, into something the Elric brothers, in all their haste, had ignored. On the center of the large cave room was the light source of the room. It was no torch, it was no lamp. No, instead it was a large ice block easily as large as Ymir. And inside it…"Is that another Chimera?" Edward questioned. Inside the ice was a large bird of multiple colors, one that seemed to share a body with that of a snake's and possessed twice as many talons as he should have, his head glittering gold with its crown-like skull.

While the brothers were distracted by it, the girl had started to slowly take steps towards the beast, just as the rebel soldiers caught up.

"Freeze and surrender! We'll spare you if you hand us the doll!" the captain of the assault squad promised them, a fake promise if a smile ever betrayed it.

"Stop ogling that bird and give us a hand!" Edward demanded, clapping his hands and preparing to transmute. It was then that the unexplainable happened.

"Vali…garmanda…" the doll whispered, touching the ice with her small delicate hand. Just as she did, the floor for the entire room was immediately replaced by a gigantic, unblinking gray eye.

"No way…" Edward gasped as black, tendril-like hands arose from the eye, the walls, the ceiling, even from the ice block itself. They wiggled and twisted, bringing back memories long past on the brothers. "This can't be! Why is the Gate opening?! What do you want with us?!"

The room soon became a place of terror and chaos as the hands shot towards Edward and Alphonse, only to ignore them and blitz right past and, in some cases, right **through **them. The brothers looked in horror as the hands grabbed onto the soldiers, severing the molecular connections between their limbs and body.

"No! Not again!" Edward blared out loud, his hands grasping at the tendrils of darkness. A powerful electrical shock came with every tendril he grabbed, but Edward was a man on a mission. Taking every tendril he could, he tried his best to restrict them, give the soldiers the time they needed to escape. "Why are you doing this, you bastard?! Tell me what the hell is going on!" the words of the teen fell into the world's cold, uncaring ears as the tendrils began to slowly overpower Ed, slowly taking the soldiers into the monstrous eye below while they screamed for help and mercy before exploding into their physical components and being absorbed by the eye. It was then that, inside his mind, heard what could only be described as his own voice resonate, taunting him:

"_Just taking my toll, you should be used to it already!"_ In less than a minute, the Elric brothers were alone. Behind them, the girl fell to the ground, her tiara obliterated by an unknown force, and with it, the eyes of the world closed.

The room fell into a deafening silence.

"Brother… what do we do now?" Alphonse questioned, trying to keep his head calm. They still needed to escape.

"We take her and run…" Edward said, looking into his brother's eyes and answering the unasked question. "We take her. We need answers,"

"Alright, but, run… where?" Al asked, pointing out how they had no idea how to direct themselves through the winding tunnels.

"Over here!" a squeaky voice exclaimed. The sound of screeching rocks took the chamber's dead silence. On the north end of the room, a secret passage had been opened. In it was a furry, round creature with bat wings and closed eyes that the world knew as a Moogle, its pom-pom hopping around as the creature signaled Edward to follow them. "Quick, more are coming!"

There was no time for doubts. Edward and Alphonse took what they could and sprinted towards the moogle, Alphonse taking the girl and Edward trying his best to ignore the pain of his burns. The white fur ball was surprisingly fast and adept at navigating through the cave tunnels, taking them through a half an hour run through the complex maze, blessed they were with no encounters with the returners. They did not speak until they arrived at what seemed like another dead end.

"Let me just move this…" the moogle said, turning a stone around to open yet another secret passage. The blinding light of sunset took Edward's eyes, nearly blinding him after almost two hours in total darkness. That being set, the bet seemed to have played off, as they appeared to leave on the mountainside just beside the Narshean mines, on just an isolated enough location for them to be able to rush to their Magitek Armors without much of an issue.

"Thank you, but-" Al began, hoping to know the reason for this rescue.

"Don't ask why. It's in my best interests to help you," the moogle said, looking around and back at Edward. "Now go, before they find you!"

"Alright, thank you…" Alphonse thanked, again stopping himself as he did not know the creature's name.

"Mog!" the moogle said as he waved back at them. "Now hurry!" And so they did.

* * *

"They vanished? Along with every single one of our vanguard?!" Rosé exclaimed at the report of one of the scouts. Her and Banon had taken refuge back in the Narshean nursery, Banon's burned skin and bone being treated as best as it could by the medics of the returners.

"Y-yes… we were tagging the vanguard, but the tunnels suddenly were filled with screams. We went as fast as we could, but soon as we got to the frozen Esper, there was no one there… not even the Esper," the scout explained, shocking Rosé even more.

"This can't be… what could they have possibly done?!" she screamed, throwing down a vase out of desperation and anger. They had lost far more than just a chance of hurting the empire.

"I may have the answer to that," a jovial voice came from the door. Two figures standing side by side in it.

"And you would be?" Rosé asked, the closer of the figures walking inside the room revealing a man in his twenties with a bandana who said:

"Locke Cole, adventurer extraordinaire, and that's my associate Shadow,"

* * *

"You managed to get them out safely?" a voice from the other side of a telephone line asked Mog. The moogle stood inside a seemingly normal Narshean abode, if not for the blood painted walls and carpet.

"Yeah, and I even threw in a small scale massacre to blame on the Returners!" Mog said with a sick glee, observing his "hard work". A family of three children, one of which being nothing more than a baby, all bloodied and lifeless across the bedroom, where one of the still breathing parents laid against the wall, broken, pleading for death.

"This is why we hate sending you on covert missions," the voice from the other side of the line said in exasperation.

"Oh c'mon, don't act like that, wanting to be in my place doesn't suit you. Envy is **my** sin!" the "Moogle" said as it's body and form slowly transformed, leaving in its place what looked to be a teenager with long, black hair.

*Cue: "Kesenai Tsumi" FMA 2003 OST*

The teenager then moved towards the window of the house, smiling he watched as a pair of Magitek Armors find their way into the sea of white. "Besides, our little doggie and dolly combo seems to be working just fine!"

* * *

"_Who am I? One name you might have for me is the world, or you might call me the universe, or perhaps God, or perhaps the Truth. I am All, and I am One. So, of course, this also would mean that I am you… pity you are nothing."_

"_We give you a doll for a week and you come back with her broken? Pitiful display Edward Elric!"_

"_What makes you think a weapon needs a name?"_

**Next Time: A Monster Without a Name**

* * *

**Post-Chapter Note:** Alright, now we may talk. First, you may be asking, why create a FMA/FFVI crossover? Well, they are more alike than you may think. As you could probably guess from this chapter, they are very easily meshed in terms of themes and characters, they have a similar setting in a steampunk influenced world, the authoress for FMA is a major fan of VI, the list goes on and on. And that's why this fic didn't leave my head once I rewatched Brotherhood. The worlds just meshed too well, the plot too, it really is the perfect balance of "similar but diferent" in my opinion.

Okay, that was my excuse for starting yet another fic. I'll keep the first 2-3 chapters on a semi-regular basis, aiming for two weeks each, to get the story rolling, after that I will most likely follow FMA's release Schedule of one per month, with exceptions being made for major climaxes and such.

With all that said, what did you think of the chapter? What did you like, dislike, would like to see in the story, anything really! Comment bellow, let me know!


	2. A Monster Without a Name

**Author's Note:** Took longer than expected, midterms weren't kind this year, no sir. However, it's still here, and I'm not abandoning it anytime soon. Especially now that it has had the most successful start out of all of my fics. Some of you that criticized a certain aspect of the chapter may also be pleasantly surprised with this one, so dig in!

* * *

**Of Dogs and Dolls**

**Chapter 2**

**A Monster Without a Name**

* * *

This week had been a good one for Colonel Roy Mustang. Scratch that, it had been a truly glorious week for Colonel Roy Mustang. The black haired military man had done the equivalent of winning the lottery. 2nd Lieutenant Jean Havoc, known by everyone to be the Mustang unit's resident lazy bum, had been dumped by his most recent girlfriend, sending him on an overly exaggerated existential crisis that lead him to take both his paperwork and Roy's. This, accompanied by how little Chimera activity there had been this week, left him with minimal military work and ample time to enjoy the beauties of Mobliz. To top it all off, since all his work was already done, his behavior didn't incite some "warning shots" from the Mustang Unit's 1st Lieutenant. And to think, all of this had happened the moment that the only thing that could ruin it, that pipsqueak of an Alchemist called Fullmetal, had been sent to the far, faaaaar North.

Life was good.

"Colonel! Colonel Mustang!" Mustang heard the voice of the youngest member of his unit call. The short but smart Sergeant Major Kain Fuery was calling for him, Mustang turning to see the brightest member of his crew heaving on just in front of him, his normally spiked black hairline loosely falling while his glasses were displaced. Mustang didn't have the best of feelings about this. "The Elric Brothers are back!"

Colonel Roy Mustang was not having a good day anymore.

"I suppose they like to be speedy about all their missions, don't they? If only so that they have some more free time to wander around," Mustang replied with a sigh, adjusting his Amestrian Military blue, white and gold uniform. "I suppose I should go and meet him then, right?"

"Actually, I think you may want to read this," Fuery told his superior, handing him a couple of papers. "It's the report for Edward Elric's mission," the young soldier explained as Mustang took them, taking a look for himself.

Colonel Roy Mustang was not going to have another good week in a long time.

"Sergeant Major Fuery…" Mustang began, neatly folding the documents and storing them on his pocket for safekeeping.

"Go get me my Lieutenant."

*Cue: "Melissa" FMA 2003 OST*

* * *

A small hand was raised in front of a single pair of eyes. At first, it moved not an inch, the eyes had not even focused on it. Suddenly, almost magically, the hand turned, simply because its owner willed it. However, the clearer the image became, the more noticeable the realization came. How long had it been there? For how long were those fingers able to move at her whim? How long… had she not been able to see this?

Slowly, the brain started to realize that the hand was not the only part it could move. For the first time in what felt like forever, numerous sensations, vivid, complex and more diverse the mind ever remembered. It was something that one could not explain in words. Yet, it could be summed up in one. Freedom.

The violet eyed girl soon found herself in control of her body. She felt free, not the mockery of a doll with puppet strings she had become. But, by the same amount she was flabbergasted. Confused. Lost. Like an illiterate child given a book, this so-called freedom meant nothing to the girl. She had no idea what to do with it. Even something as simple as sitting up came only a few minutes after digesting the possibility of even doing so. That was when she started analyzing where she was. There was really not much to analyze at all however. She sat in an empty void of white. Nothing to keep her company, not even a shadow. Nothing except…

"Yo! Took you a while to get up!" the lone inhabitant of this place greeted. The girl was shocked in seeing that the thing wasn't human, not that she called herself that, she was bellowing it. But still. From the faint shreds of memory she had of the outside world, she knew this thing could not be human. Yet, it felt so familiar. It was about her size… about her figure… No. It was exactly her size and figure. The only differences between her and the thing was that the thing's hair was far wilder than her own, it had clawed hands and feet and, far more shockingly, was completely white and lacked any all features except for a single, large and disconcerting grin. Even for the young woman, who had had no free will until just now, her instinct required her to question this creature. To know what it was.

"W-who are you?" the sound of her own voice questioned, a strangely foreign sound, she had remembered hearing it, but not until now did she see it as her own.

"Why do all of you start this the same way? I guess it's just in your nature, isn't it? Always curious, always evolving, always slipping your noses right where you had no business in!" the thing sarcastically said, mimicking every bodily response its guest had. What disconcerted her the most was the voice. It was… her's. Or so she thought. It didn't quite sound like it. But then again, how could she know? Her own voice was foreign to her. "Oh, but I'm rambling again!" the thing said, bursting into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

"W-what's so funny?" the girl questioned instinctively. Funny. What did she mean by that? She knew she had once known, but her memory was so… barren. It smiled.

"Why you are! I mean, the fact that you are even here is just hilarious! Look around you! Why are you at the edge of Truth without a Gate to call your own?!"She didn't understand half of what it was saying, but she looked around and saw that there was nothing resembling a door anywhere. Just a vast whiteness. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'll answer your question little girl. As to who am I… One name you might have for me is the World, or you might call me the Universe, or perhaps God, or perhaps the Truth. I am All, and I am One. So, of course, this also would mean that I am you… pity you are nothing." The last words rang deep inside the girl, for a reason she did not know. Maybe it was because the entity that called itself God had suddenly dropped the bravado on the last few words? Or was it because they were… especially poignant?

"That can't be! I'm here! I can't be nothing!" even she knew that. It was basic logic. How could _Nothing_ exist? That only served to reignite the smile on Truth as he questioned:

"Oh, but you are! If you are, indeed, something, then tell me, what _are_ you?" Truth asked, arcing its arms to add: "Even I, that sees all, knows all, have no idea what you can be. I know all that exists. Yet I do not know you. Tell me then, what being are you?"

"I'm… human?" her answer was more laced with doubt than it was with anything else, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Human?! What kind of human can create without losing? What kind of human can transmute without a Gate? What kind of human looks like **this**?" the being questioned, with every word a tendril of shadow suddenly appearing from the vast white and grabbing a hold of the girl, her newfound freedom coming to an abrupt end. She tried to scream, but soon the hands had gagged her as she was pulled into the ground itself. As her consciousness faded, she could hear the voice taunt her from within her own brain:

"Come back when you have an answer, and don't forget… you used others to pay my toll. Aren't you a pretty monster?"

* * *

This wasn't the first time nor would it be the last time that Roy Mustang visited the infirmary. Mostly because he was responsible for the Fullmetal Wreck known as Edward Elric, who somehow managed to get himself beat up and stepped on in half the missions he was assigned to. His success ratio was just fine, but there was no such thing as "the easy way" for that boy, was there?

That being said, he was even less surprised when he found out that Edward had forced his way out of the infirmary as soon as he woke up, presumably to hole himself up in the library again. Par for the course. With all that said, Roy was not here for Fullmetal. If he was, he'd have gone directly to the library. No, he was here because, for some reason, they had stored a weapon of mass destruction of all things on the freaking infirmary. When he questioned the nurse, he got a blank stare back from her, who said that the only thing that Alphonse had brought with him outside of his quite mangled brother was, well, a girl. Mustang raised an eyebrow at this, but he knew there was no harm in seeing the girl in question. As soon as he was lead to the girl, which bore minimal, if any, injury, Roy's well trained eyes scanned her.

"A bit too young, but quite the catch. Obviously this isn't a girl Fullmetal managed to charm," Mustang said, keeping up his appearance as the womanizer most men in the city both hated and envied. Not to say that was just a façade, but rumors about him were… quite exaggerated at times. At times. He faintly heard the door to the infirmary open, and with it the nurse left, only to be immediately replaced…

"That's not just some girl Edward Elric brought in Colonel," 1st Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye told her commander, arms crossed and exasperated by her Colonel's incorrigible nature at times. However, personal problems had a time and a place, and no one was better at discerning that place than Hawkeye. Now was not the time. "She, if we can even call her that, is the Magitek Elite we've been hearing about," this nearly shattered Mustang's preconceived notion of the girl, turning his somewhat light mood into a dark shadow of itself.

"I won't ask if you're sure, I'll ask where you got that from," Mustang said, being sure his Lieutenant wouldn't make such a huge claim empty handed. While he awaited for the response, he analyzed what he thought to be an innocent young woman further. It was terrifying. It looked just like a human. There was not a single distinguishing feature. Dark thoughts started to rise. Just how could he tell these dolls from a normal soldier?

"General Leo got a call from Kimblee. He did us the favor of slipping a bit more than he had to when it comes as to why we need to check on this one. He doesn't seem too happy with the steps the military has been taking recently," Hawkeye explained, Mustang thanking the Goddess that his Lieutenant's uncle had become softer ever since he was assigned to the east.

"It is true that Vector has become increasingly more violent over his time, Ishval is proof of that. But to create something like this and use it to stamp out any opposition is just degrading," he commented. This had not been the first time that he had heard that the Central at Vector had developed a new kind of Magitek war machine, one that could replace soldiers. But, aside from the praise to the weapon itself and word of how it had single-handedly burned down the crime-infested city of Zozo, any details on what the weapon did or even how it looked had been kept away from even the most observant of eyes and ears.

"That being said, we have a request from him," Hawkeye stated, turning his back at her Colonel and heading towards the door.

"Not an order?" Mustang questioned, understanding that this meant that he wanted this to be strictly off-record.

"He wants us to gather information from the Elric Brothers. Kimblee said he was coming to pick the Magitek Elite up as soon as possible. Before that, we have to find out if that's an _it_… or a _she_." She said as she left. Mustang slowly turned toward the girl and closed his eyes, shaking his head. This hit him deeper than it would a normal person.

Imperial Alchemists knew what it meant to be a living weapon.

* * *

"How did you find us?" Rosé asked the two intruders, three if you counted the black Beauceron pure breed sitting watchfully by the dark-clothed man's side. She didn't flinch at the intrusion, if anything, she had done her best to confront the intruders. She knew well enough that, with Banon's injuries being life-threatening, she had to hold the entire organization together by herself.

"I could keep my hand hidden, but I think we'll get along better if I just come clean," the man with the bandana replied, pulling up a chair and taking a seat. "We were originally just tailing the Fullmetal Alchemist. You can probably see what that lead to," he explained, inviting the young woman to seat by the other side of the table. Rosé didn't entirely trust these people, however, after the crushing losses they had suffered at the hands of Edward, she _needed _this man to be good news. "Where are my maners though? Pleasure to meet you… I didn't catch your name actually," he introduced himself as Rosé took a seat, extending his hand to take hers. The dry air was the only thing touch that hand, she didn't trust him enough to let him get into any position in which he could apply force. Rosé knew at least that much about shady dealings.

"Rosé Thomas, but I'd think you knew that already," Locke shrugged back at her, nearly apologetically, but it was to be expected if he had tailed Edward. "Now, I'm not going to pretend like I trust you. That being said, you have given me no reason to distrust you, outside of breaking into my organization's headquarters. I'd appreciate it if you told me why you were tailing Edward and even better, why you came here," a single droplet of sweat came down the left side of Rosé temple, her cursing every second of it. For all she tried to swagger, truth was, she was just as overwhelmed as the rest of her soldiers, if not more so. And she knew, that even if Locke hadn't noticed her moment of weakness, Shadow's pruning eyes sure had.

Her spirits were slightly lightened up once Locke's posture completely let off its more formal vibe and he slid back on his chair, crossing his right leg over the left one and scratching the back of his head.

"I guess we do look kind of shady. Okay, I guess you deserve to know the specifics. We weren't exactly tailing the FMA, as I like to call him, because we have an actual interest in him. He was just our ticket to seeing a Magitek Elite in action," Locke explained, leading Rosé to assume what that unit's name was.

"That being the Magic-wielding Doll?" Rosé asked, Locke smiling and nodding.

"Bingo! That's the one. Needless to say, we got a good look at her and… well, we realized we were in way over our heads," Locke pointed out, his more relaxed posture diminishing with every word. "I'm not Alchemist, however, Shadow there is. He assures that what he saw was not something Alchemy could explain or even dream of doing. We were skeptical Amestris had actually deciphered the secret of magic when we embarked on this mission, but there's no mistaking it. Vector is playing God,"

"And so you came to us? We didn't fare especially well either," Rosé pointed out, to which Locke had no other option but to concur.

"I guess that's true, but honestly, the more the merrier. From the looks of it, you probably want the same thing we want," Locke said. This, however, awakened a doubt in the pink-haired girl that was most likely not what he was expecting.

"Who's… _we_?" she was sure it wasn't him and Shadow only. He had implied he wanted to take the Empire down, furthermore, he implied someone else had sent him on a sort of reckon mission. His face told her that he didn't expect her to catch on quite yet, but the quick smile told her that she had probably just saved him the time to bring it up.

"A certain large country to the North,"

* * *

"You look strangely sure of where Fullmetal is, Colonel," Hawkeye pointed out as they left Mobliz HQ and headed north. Mustang's mind wasn't quite in his lieutenant however. The mention of a living sentient weapon had awakened in him memories that he thought better repressed.

Order 3066, the Ishval Extermination Declaration. The order that had made him a Hero, the single factor that made his skyrocketing of the ranks in the military possible, and probably the greatest reason he pursued his career with such fervor. All of these things had come at a cost. A large chunk of his humanity. It wouldn't surprise him at all if the Empire had gone a step further with that girl.

"Bradley, what are you doing to your country?" Mustang mumbled as the duo stopped by a crosswalk, the incoming traffic giving Mustang some time to look around. Mobliz was mostly a trade town for all intents and purposes, which meant that it was always chockfull with tourists, traders and, most importantly, it was always on the move. It didn't have the same feel as the metropolis that was Vector however, if anything, Mobliz felt like a perfect hybrid of modernization and that homely feeling. Magitek hadn't taken over the town, leaving it with feeling more welcoming than the steel capital.

Most of the city was constructed in cement, from the pavement to the streets to even the house, however the people in the town acted closer as to what you would find in a country village, something that made Mustang glad he had been stationed here. It kept his mind in what was important, the people.

Speaking of which, Mustang was amused when he looked to his side and saw a small boy of brown hair saluting at him.

"Good afternoon Colonel Mustang, sir!" the kid exclaimed with all his power, pumping his chest outwards to assert his presence. Roy, despite his high rank in the military, was still a human after all, this kind of enthusiasm was more than chuckle worthy. Still, he held it back and gave the boy the salute he was asking for.

"At ease, Private-to-be," Mustang replied as if he was talking to an actual soldier. He could hear Hawkeye sigh in amusement at his and the boy's antics. This was not the first time this kid had done this, and it would not be the last. Roy Mustang was either idolized or abhorred in the area, and honestly, Amestris in general. Anyone that supported the Empire and its military treated him as one of the Heroes of Ishval. Everyone else saw him as nothing but a merciless monster. To an extent, both were true. This kid was obviously one of the supporters. "How are you keeping up on your studies, Duane? The military academy doesn't take slouches, you know?" Mustang questioned, kneeling and rubbing the ten year old's scalp vigorously.

"I'm at the top of my class! I'll be such a good student the academy won't have a choice in taking me in even before I'm old enough!" the young boy exclaimed, in his eyes burning a fire that had once burned in Mustang's own eyes. A fire that some said still did, albeit it was much more quiet and controlled. Mustang's interest in Duane was how pure his intentions were for becoming a soldier.

To serve and protect the people. The very same ideal that had lead him here. The very same ideal that betrayed itself ten years ago.

"I don't think the academy works like that," Hawkeye pointed out, more teasing the boy than anything else. During the time at Mobliz Duane had been practically stalking Roy, which meant everyone that was close to him knew the fanboy.

"There's always a first!" Duane said with his head held high. Hawkeye had to admit, the kid had spunk.

"Duane! Duane!" a wavy-haired brunette girl about the same age as the boy in question exclaimed from down the street, rushing towards them, heaving. "You know your mom doesn't like that you talk to the Colonel!" Mustang inwardly cringed at the comment. Duane's mother was… strict to say the least. To everyone. Not a single man in the military wanted anything with that lady after the Ishval incident.

"That's why I sneaked out of the house, Katarin!" Duane replied deviously, the girl bonking him on the head before grabbing his collar.

"Well, you're going back! I won't have you get grounded and have to spend a week without playing with you again!" she exclaimed, turning to Roy and Riza, bowing her head and saying: "I apologize for the inconvenience, Colonel Mustang, Lieutenant Hawkeye," before leaving with the kid. Mustang cracked a smile:

"Those two remind me of another pair," he commented before feeling the sharp, penetrating gaze of his lieutenant drill on the side of his skull.

"A pair that is still on duty, even if apparently half of it forgot about it," Hawkeye pointed out, her Colonel nodding nervously before doubling the previous pace to his destination.

As he did, Roy's eyes took a good, long look at the large, eight meter tall cement walls that surrounded Mobliz. They were somewhat of an eyesore to anyone not used to a major town or the capital, albeit extremely needed, especially now with the reported Chimera population skyrocketing. After witnessing what seemed to be a legitimate human-like weapon, Mustang could not help but wonder just how much Vector's experiments contributed to that, if at all. He admonished himself soon afterwards though.

"I'm getting too paranoid," he mumbled under his breath.

* * *

The Mobliz Military Library was second only to Vector's Central Library in terms of sheer mass of knowledge stored within. Being the most peaceful of the five major cities in the country, they simply had the most time to pursue research. For all the good… and the bad that came with it. A certain Chimera-specialized alchemist was the first thing to haunt the Colonel's mind. That being said, he was here for a reason. And it wasn't to rent a book. No, it was simply because, just as he predicted, just beside the Alchemy wing, surrounded by three mountains of books that he had no idea how they had gone through them already, were the Elric Brothers, Edward and Alphonse, endlessly consuming the books. There was, however, something different from usual, something that, in any other circumstance, would have made Mustang's day. Edward had the biggest look of frustration of this side of Amestris planted right into his face. In fact, just as they arrived, he had thrown his arms into the ceiling before ruffling his hair, screaming:

"Just what the hell are you?!" only to have his brother remind him he was in a library, to which Ed reluctantly agreed to quiet down. By the time he did though, Mustang and Hawkeye had made their presence known as they stood just by their table. "Oh look who it is, the womanizing colonel himself. Shouldn't you be chasing the librarian's skirt?" Ed taunted, his mood apparently lighting up at the mere chance of messing with Roy, who internally regretted not savoring Ed's frustration and possibly shove it in his face.

"I'm on duty Fullmetal. Even if I was this master of romance, I wouldn't do it inside work hours," Hawkeye had to control herself to not smack him on the spot. That was complete and utter bullshit, and he knew it. "Speaking of duty, may I ask what are you doing here drowning on books when you should be at HQ reporting to the Lieutenant General?"

"I already filled the damn paper already, what do you want more?" Edward spat back, his head diving right back into his books.

"We want what you obviously didn't write on paper," Hawkeye snapped, swiftly and coldly, throwing a single leaf of paper onto the table, reciting part of its contents as it did. "'We managed to escape the rebels by traversing their tunnels with the help of a tunnel.'" She quoted, Mustang continuing her train of thought:

"You may be awful at most military work Fullmetal, but your reports are always praiseworthy. Strange place to write it up like 2nd Lieutenant Havoc would," the Colonel explained, the groan that came from his target simply confirming what he knew for a fact from the start.

"You're expecting me to change my report? I don't have time for that," Edward replied defensively, just like Roy expected, who, putting his hands on the table, looked into the eyes of the teenager with the most serious but sincere look he could muster.

"No. What I am asking you is for you to talk to me… strictly off-record," he proposed, silence finally returning to the library after all that.

"Brother, we can't keep this to ourselves," Alphonse interjected after nearly a minute of Roy and Ed staring down at each other. A few more seconds elapsed before Edward made his response known, as he stood up, taking some of the books with him and rasping out:

"Better help get these books back in their place then," he told everyone around him, confusing them. "What? You want to talk this out in a library?" Mustang admonished himself for even considering that idea. Their voices would be the only sounds in the building.

"Very well Fullmetal, consider this my thanks," Mustang replied as he took on the task.

* * *

By the time they had exited the building Roy knew that he was going to have sore shoulders for the rest of the day. How did that boy manage to read so much in so little time? He would never get these geniuses.

"So, you wanted to know just what happened in those tunnels." Edward questioned, Roy and Hawkeye simply nodding, trying to make the conversation look as casual as possible to the people on the streets. Having the Colonel, his 1st Lieutenant sneak away not a dark corner with an Imperial Alchemist to discuss something would bring far more attention than just talking it out as they seemed to be returning from a simple go to the library. "Truth be told, we have no idea what happened,"

"Fullmetal…" Roy started threateningly, he was not in the mood for this.

"Don't misunderstand Colonel. I know exactly what I saw. That doesn't mean I understand it or know what the hell happened," Ed completed, telling Roy this was something that went far deeper than what he had expected. "That girl, she opened The Gate," Roy had to resist the urge to act even the least bit surprised, even though it was like all gears in his heads had just gotten dislocated and were now rolling aimlessly on the floor of his mind.

"Wouldn't that mean she is human?" Hawkeye questioned back in an effort to keep the conversation going no matter what.

"What part of me not understanding anything that happened in that tunnel didn't you understand?" Edward growled back, leaving Alphonse to clean up his mess.

"The truth is we were chased into a dead end by the rebels. In there, there was a completely out of place block of ice with what looked like a Chimera inside it," Alphonse explained as the spirits began to calm down. "She just touched it and she either said a couple of words or spelled out one, next thing we know, The Gate opened beneath everyone in the room and everyone but us and her was just pulled in. What makes it even more confusing is that apparently nothing came from it… it just defies Equivalent Exchange."

"I see. I guess we aren't in a position to ask for an explanation. What did she say though?" Roy asked, unwittingly using a she instead of an it.

"Vali-Garmanda," Alphonse recited, pausing just like the girl had.

"It's most likely a single word," Roy began, receiving a "no shit" look from Edward in the process. "Am I right to assume you didn't get anything on that from the library?"

"Not a single mention," Edward confirmed, the HQ starting to come into view. They had to make this fast.

"You two should try Vector's Imperial Library," Hawkeye suggested, almost reading Roy's mind in the subject. It was then that Edward had to put out a question he had saved for the entire discussion.

"You two seem to be helping us too easily. What gives?" he asked suspiciously.

"Vector's been acting shady for a long time now. I still haven't forgotten the Ishval Extermination Campaign, no one has. And then these "Dolls" start popping up. I want to understand what is going on in the military Fullmetal, and from what I can see, you do too. Why would I not cooperate with you?" Mustang replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the universe.

"Want to play the Hero again?" Edward questioned, stopping the moment he received the most burning look he had ever witnessed from the normally cool Flame Alchemist. It was obvious he had touched a still sore subject. "Alright, alright, we'll accept your help. That doesn't make us all buddy-buddy though!" replied Edward as the group arrived at the entrance to their destination. Luckily for them, they had been quick enough in discussing the bare minimum about what had happened, as any further delay would raise suspicion between the ranks.

"We'll be checking on her right now, maybe she'll be more open with us after all that happened," Al explained as he reached for the door.

"Fullmetal!" Roy exclaimed just before the door opened, gaining Ed's full attention. "The Magitek Elite that was sent with you, you have had the best chance at observing her. What do you think she really is?" he asked, Edward shaking his head, as if he had expected this from the very beginning.

"Well Colonel… your guess is as good as mine," just as Edward said this however, the sound of an explosion came from within the HQ, igniting all four people's adrenaline.

"What happened?" Mustang exclaimed just after nearly kicking the doors open. Many of the men were either too shocked to respond or simply had no idea of what had happened, however, there was one that immediately replied to the Colonel. A rather _big _man with a misshapen brown hair that wore his uniform open to accommodate his beer belly approached, saluting at his Colonel.

"I am not aware of exactly what has happened Colonel, but whatever it was, I can safely assume it came from the eastern wing," the man, 2nd Lieutenant Heymans Breda explained. Mustang didn't doubt this man's assumption in the slightest, looks were deceiving with Breda, he had graduated top of his class back in the Academy… he just felt no need to actually look the part.

"The east wing, but that's where-"Roy began, realization dawning to him. "The infirmary! Fullmetal, follow me!" he exclaimed, ironically realizing Edward had already darted off ahead of him.

* * *

Rushing through the hallways as fast as they could, the soldiers and workers giving way to the Imperial Alchemists to reach the site where there had once been an infirmary. Neither the Fullmetal Alchemist nor the Flame Alchemist could see anything but flames and smoke coming from the melted down door to the room.

"Is anyone injured?" Mustang asked, his worry being on the people first, the problem could wait.

"The nurses were out for lunch since the only patient was near catatonic, there was no one inside except her when the explosion triggered. The fire stopped us from getting inside however," the last member of the quintet of people that Mustang trusted over everyone else, the gray-haired Fallman explained, having gotten to the scene before anyone else.

"Wait, the girl is in there?!" Edward exclaimed, throwing his cloak back.

"Fullmetal, you stay right there! I won't have you kill yourself under my watch!" Roy blared, knowing full well he'd have to think of a reason for Ed to obey really fast, he wouldn't stay put for long.

"Colonel, there's something moving inside the smoke!" Hawkeye exclaimed, her moniker ringing true as she spotted the faint shadow of a person far quicker than anyone else present, whipping out her pistol just as she shouted. Moments of tension followed, as all watched the shadow slowly approach, Hawkeye's sights never leaving the humanoid shadow.

What came from the fire should be of no surprise to anyone. It was indeed the Doll, her hospital robe burned to near tatters, stalking outside the living inferno with a look that estranged Ed and Al. It was different. Aware. Confused.

"Freeze! Not one more step!" Hawkeye suddenly exclaimed, unveiling yet another emotion that Ed and Alphonse had never seen in her eyes. Fear.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, what are you doing?" Alphonse asked and receiving:

"It's obvious she caused the fire. I am not about to trust what can be a malfunctioning weapon," she said coolly, her gun never shivering. She had no ill will towards the girl, however, this had proven she was anything but stable.

"I-I didn't mean to…" the girl weakly replied, her voice weak and as fragile as a straw. Mustang was blindsided by this. Was it possible to create something so close to a human? Something that, if no evidence presented against her, Roy would not look twice in claiming it was a normal young woman? He didn't know what was scarier, the possibility that the Empire was controlling her or the possibility that the Empire could create something like her. "I-I just… please don't hurt me…" she begged as her legs gave in, forcing her to her knees.

"Lieutenant, put that gun away, you're not helping," Edward said in a tone that no one there except Al had ever heard him talk in. There was no snark, no hidden meanings and no passive aggressiveness in it, Edward felt like a different person while he walked down the hallway and put a hand on the girl's shoulders, smiling at her. "So you're more talkative now. Don't worry, the Lieutenant may look dangerous, but she's harmless, we're not about to hurt you!" he assured the girl's eyes looking up at his golden ones, the insecurity in them only fueling the feelings inside Edward.

"You're… Edward. I can remember you," she said, a sneer of pain taking her momentarily as she said that. Edward deduced that there was something wrong with her memory, at least long term, but still risked it.

"Yes, the one and only! So… what happened there? I promise I won't get angry," he said, rubbing the girl's shoulder for the extra assurance. The girl looked at everyone else before taking her eyes back to Ed's, slowly nodding.

"I was… falling. I can't… I don't know why. It was dark, I couldn't see anything. I wanted there to be light. I felt my body burn up on the inside and then… on the outside. When I stopped falling, I could only see fire…" It was obvious to anyone there that this girl wasn't in a lucid state of mind. Whatever had happened to her, or whatever she was, was preventing them from getting an answer better than that. Still, Ed had just what he wanted. The girl had just used terms like want, she had had problems controlling her powers, something had changed in her.

"Well, that's not that strange! I mean, some people wet their bed when they have strange dreams, you just… burn it down," Ed couldn't help but curse himself for making that comparison, but still, that seemed to have calmed the girl down a bit. "Al, cape," he said, not even looking as his automail arm grabbed onto the cloak and wrapped it around the girl. "Fallguy, make yourself useful and get this girl a mug of hot chocolate,"

Fallman shook for a moment before looking at his Colonel for an answer. Roy also quite surprised at the turn of events, however, agreed with Ed's train of thought. There was no reason to antagonize the girl, especially now that she seemed like she needed a helping hand. With that in mind, he nodded at his subordinate, who immediately departed to get hot chocolate for the girl. However, just as he was leaving, he crossed a man that he was positively shocked to see, at least this early.

Clapping filled the hallways as the soldiers stood back and saluted at the single man to break the crowd.

"Exemplary way of dealing with the situation, Edward Elric," the sincere-to-most tone of the man in a completely pure white suit, fedora and a violet tie echoed through the hallway. His deep black ponytail wafted to the winds from the flames, his piercing blue eyes taunting Ed as he faced him and the girl.

"Kimblee…" Edward sneered, venom dripping from his tone. Kimblee had been the man that had charged him with the girl, and he was sure that he hadn't been called here to simply tell him "job well done".

"Who… are you?" the girl asked, her face sneering in pace again as she did. "Your face…"

"Oh, what is this?" Kimblee questioned, leering the girl which caused her to fall back on a sitting position, positively terrified. "We give you a doll for a week and you come back with her broken? Pitiful display Edward Elric!" the man exclaimed, his tone more openly mocking than before. Knowing that someone was about to get hurt if Kimblee kept on teasing Edward on, Mustang had to step in.

"What do you want Kimblee?" Mustang asked, not even bothering to hide his distaste for the Crimson Alchemist. To say the two has had conflicting views ever since Ishval would be the understatement of the century. That being said, unlike Ed, Roy knew better than to take that into his own hands.

"Is that any way to speak to your superior officer, _Colonel_ Roy Mustang?" Kimblee joked, rubbing something into Roy he was not even aware of.

"Superior officer?" Hawkeye asked almost out of reflex. Kimblee had barely escaped jail for war crimes in Ishval. How would someone like him already surpass Mustang's rank, who had been in a meteoric rise as it was?

"It has been years since we last met, so it's understandable that you had no idea, hence I will hold no grudge. However, I'd prefer if you would treat me as Major General Kimblee from now on," he said with an oh-so-smug grin on his face, savoring every moment of Mustang's shock.

"In your dreams…" Edward spat, turning his head from Kimblee and instead focusing on helping the girl up.

_Major General? That's insane. How can a person like this gain so many ranks in so little time? The military must be in a worse state than I imagined…_ Mustang's mind blurted, his expression not betraying him, keeping itself as cool as it possibly could. He didn't need to play into his game. "I take it you must have changed a lot since you got your rank, as I'd never imagine you presenting yourself earlier than what Vector said you would,"

"Your flames must be made of ice, colonel. However, you overestimate me. I was more than content with arriving on schedule, however, General Armstrong was far more adamant in getting this mission over and done with once she received the report," Kimblee explained, faking annoyance, if anything, he was enjoying every bit of shock he could squeeze out of Roy.

"Major General Armstrong? Why would she leave Briggs?" Roy questioned aloud, Kimblee chuckling as he turned back and put his fedora back on.

"You've got the wrong General Armstrong, Colonel," he said as he headed down the hallway. "Bring the doll with you Edward Elric, she has someone expecting her,"

"Wrong Armstrong? Wait a minute, why would they send _her_ here?!" Roy staggered, Edward not even caring about the charades between both superior officers, instead asking the nurse where they had kept the girl's previous clothing and taking Fallman's hot chocolate.

"We should get moving Colonel Pervert, I think the faster we get rid of Kimblee the better the rest of our day will be," he commented as he handed the girl the hot chocolate.

"This is… good," she said just with the mere touch of her lips. Moments later, she chugged it all down, much to Al's panic. Surprisingly, she didn't seem the least bit accepted with the boiling temperatures of it.

"You know Fullmetal, I guess I can understand how you feel about this girl," Mustang said as he began walking down the hallway. He comprehended Edward's doubts about her, but also his beliefs. He was sure the capital had done something monstrous now, even if he didn't quite know what.

* * *

They soon caught up to the Crimson Alchemist, following him into the room of the one that lead this division of the army, Lieutenant General Leo Christophe. As soon as they opened the door, they were met by the aforementioned general, a man in his late thirties of tanned complexion and blonde hair styled in a mohawk, respectable moustache wearing a modified version of the Amestrian uniform, this one styled into a green and yellow tailcoat.

However, the one stealing all the gazes was not the one they knew to be there, but the younger woman sitting opposite to him on the table. Long blonde hair and a pale complexion very much like the doll Edward had taken into the room, her icy blue eyes being revealed as she turned to glance at the newcomers. She wore a yellow armored vest over a violet shirt with white high hells clanking on the ground.

Seeing Roy salute immediately, Edward knew it was better to play nice, so, without Al even asking him to, he saluted as well, even having no idea who this person was.

"General Celes Armstrong, what do we owe this visit?" Mustang asked, being as courteous as possible. This was the first time he had seen her in person. The only person ranked general in the entire empire now that her father had left the military. A mere twenty year old woman. He didn't hate her or any of the like, he was more morbidly curious how Bradley's protégé was as a person.

"I don't trust Kimblee to handle the Magitek Elite with enough care, if any at all. I wouldn't have come if I had known that the Lieutenant General though the same," she explained, quick and to the point. "You are Colonel Mustang, correct? I've had your praises sung to me time and time again, Hero of Ishval. I'd like to have a word with you during our trip,"

"Trip? I don't-"

"Before you misunderstand Roy, you have not gained Celes' affections," Leo said, chuckling it off. "General Celes was here to escort the Magitek Elite, while Kimblee was to deal with Fullmetal, as he was the one to order him to go to Narshe. However, she came on her own free will, which lead to me scheduling a train for you and your unit to do what she came here to do. I would cancel these orders, however, after reading the report, the added peril of a rebel organization seems to justify this course of action,"

"Well now, it seems we'll have a long time to catch up, won't we Roy?" Kimblee chuckled, Mustang looking into the eyes of Leo, understanding dawning in him.

"Now that that's settled, we should deal with what we can on the way back to Vector. Doctor Cid wants to examine the Magitek Elite as swiftly as possible. I trust your unit is capable of a quick send off?" Celes questioned Mustang, Hawkeye intervening in his behalf:

"I'll round up everyone and meet you at the train station at 3 PM sharp," she replied, having memorized train schedules a long time ago.

"Efficiency, I like it," Celes commented with a smile as she nodded back to Hawkeye. "Fullmetal Alchemist, I'll be taking the Elite," Celes said as she approached the girl, being positively shocked to see her hide behind Alphonse's armor. "How… it doesn't matter, for now we should do our best to not damage it further. Can you guarantee the safety of the Elite, Alphonse Elric?"

"I'll do my very best!" Al replied with as much confidence as he could muster under the gaze of the woman. Edward just stared at her, wondering why he could not move his feet. This woman was the real deal. "That being said, if I may ask… does she have a name?" this question genuinely seemed to shock Celes, however, whatever response she had was silenced by Kimblee's laugh, the Major General saying:

"What makes you think a weapon needs a name?" he asked, leaving the room with a waft of his fedora. Silence took the room as all but Celes stared daggers into Kimblee's back.

"If she does, I am not aware. Feel free to call her whatever you desire, she should respond to any name you assign her," Celes replied, the contents of which as vague as her tone. With that, she left the room. "Come you two, I don't want to take my eyes of the one I came to protect," Alphonse looked at the girl first, who seemed to nod, Edward just shrugged once Al looked at him.

"Excuse us. It was good seeing you General Leo!" Alphonse said with genuine honesty before leaving the room with his brother and the girl. With Hawkeye leaving to get his unit, Mustang was left alone with Leo.

"Roy, I trust you know why I insisted in sending you to Vector," he told his most trusted soldier. Mustang nodded back at him. "I knew that the mere sight of that girl would make you understand that the Empire has once again entered a dark alleyway. I do not know what is happening inside it, and, as you know, the last time I tried to, I was stripped of my rank and sent here. Are you willing to take the same risk?"

"Left alone, another Ishval may happen. I don't consider any other choice," Roy replied, Leo nodding before smiling at the younger Colonel.

"The military was created by the people, to protect the people. It's good to see that some have not forgotten that. Keep me posted Roy, I doubt there's a simple mound of dirt for you to dig," he told Mustang, patting him on the shoulder. "Oh, and don't get caught. I'd love having my niece be the First Lady of Amestris!" he commented with a hearty chuckle at Roy's immediate dismissal.

* * *

Twenty minutes had passed ever since the meeting, not much had happened during that time, Edward, Alphonse and the girl had simply taken a seat with Celes on the train station, not as much as a word being traded between the group. Soon after came Hawkeye, along with Fuery, Breda, Fallman and the half-dead blonde country-boy, Jean Havoc, still pleading for his girlfriend to come back. Minutes later, the Colonel arrived, just as the train towards the capital made its arrival.

"Everyone arrived sooner than me? I'm impressed," Kimblee commented snidely as he entered the station.

"Everyone prepared?" Celes asked everyone.

"As ready as we'll ever be," she heard Edward snide back, ignoring him completely.

"Well then, I'll be waiting for you in the first carriage," Celes told them, groups forming between the small crowd as they all headed towards the train at their own pace. With all that said, Mustang could not help but stare into the horizon, knowing exactly where the capital lay.

"Bradley, it seems like I'm coming for you sooner than I expected…"

* * *

Apart from all that we have witnessed until now, we now take a look inside at the dark halls of a museum long past closing time. The clock counted single digits as two security guards patrolled the empty hallways, sometimes gazing upon the stored relics.

"Ya know Biggs, I don't get it. Why would we still keep Ishvalan stuff in our museum? We touched the place years ago," the first security guard asked, lighting a particularly impressive slab illustrating a large majestic dragon, its long wings spread across the stone whilst a single, green stone seemed to serve as its heart.

"They are called war trophies Wedge, We want them dead, but we also want others to know we killed them ya know? I mean for all intents and purposes, Ishvalans were like cockroaches, the fact that we wiped them out is a feat we should be proud of-"a flashing light, joined with a squelch of pain and the breaking of a lamp all sending him into a state of alert. "Wedge? Something happen back there?!" he exclaimed, pointing his lamp towards where he thought his partner had been.

He did not expect the lamp to hit someone's chest. He could not see much of the person in this darkness, save for his dark skin, along with a single scar barely lit by the lamp's light.

"An Ishva-"were the last words of the man known as Biggs, as a large, tattooed arm grappled with his head, before unleashing what looked to be the fury of lightning into his body until the man was no more than a lump of flesh.

*Cue: "Kesenai Tsumi" FMA 2003 OST*

"May the Crusader have mercy on your soul," the Ishvalan said, voice dripping in hatred. He then proceeded to turn towards the slab, clutching to his arm. "Rest well my brothers, our retribution is nigh,"

* * *

"_Colonel, tell me. To what have you sworn loyalty?"_

"_And this my beautiful, amazing, perfect and adorable daughter, Elicia!"_

"_Such bravery, such compassion! Accept the embrace of my muscles!"_

**Next Time: The Steel Capital**

* * *

**Post-Chapter Note:** As you can see, the beginning was on purpose, this story will be everything BUT a carbon copy of FMA. I included quite a little troop of FFVI elements in this chapter, and some of you may use them to guess certain happenings that are coming. Some are obvious, some are not! That being said, this was very much Roy's chapter, for all that Ed and Al were still in it. He IS one of the major players on this fic too, so I hope I've done him justice. Now, all we need is an "Al chapter" to cover all the FMA MCs! Stay tuned for next time, and don't forget to leave your thoughts down bellow!


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